As Outside Lands approaches every year, there’s a unique buzz around San Francisco. Between those frantically searching for tickets, hashing out set conflicts, proclaiming excitement or proudly boycotting, the City’s biggest festival is on locals’ minds this week. For the last 5 years we’ve watched Another Planet Entertainment’s crown jewel grow along a similar trajectory as the Bay Area–rapidly rising in popularity (and price). Even with the ever-changing landscape that surrounds it, Outside Lands maintains a dedication to quality music, comedy and food in 2016. The lineup sticks to the tried and true formula of local / up ‘n coming acts, the years’ current headliners and a rare performance from a star of the past.
While we’d be happy to harp some more on how awesome Anderson .Paak, Rufus Du Sol or LCD Soundsystem are, we thought we’d take this opportunity to introduce all our Bay Area Ninjas to some acts they might fall in love with for the first time this weekend at Outside Lands. We know how hard it is to get your crew moving, particularly in SF, but we think these artists make accelerating your pre-game well worth it. Hope to catch some of you Ninjas out in Hellman Hollow!
Day 1
Make It Funky DJs (Heineken House, 12-1:30PM)
For the most prompt attendees, we’d recommend kicking off your weekend at the Heineken House with our friends from Make It Funky. Over the last 3 years, the DJ collective have established themselves as a staple of San Francisco nightlife. If you haven’t yet been to one of their events, their set in the Heineken House should serve as the perfect introduction to their funk/disco vibes and get you dancing from the jump. – Ash
Marian Hill (Twin Peaks, 12:45-1:30)
Marian Hill is the cleverly titled Philly-based band consisting of Jeremy Lloyd and Samantha Gongol. While they haven’t been on the scene long, the band makes up for short-term fame in their long-term chemistry – having performed together since middle school. Since gaining notoriety behind the catchy “One Time” in early 2014, Marian Hill has been putting together jazzy-electronic tracks at a solid pace. Their debut album, ACT ONE, is out now and well worth a listen. – Dom P.
Wet (Sutro, 2:30-3:20)
While riding the wave to fame behind a hipster following, Wet has taken the back roads to success, allowing their vast internet following to shower them with (well deserving) praise behind early bedroom productions. Since putting out the 2013 melodic “I Don’t Wanna Be Your Girl”, the Wet trio has signed to a major label and toured nationally. Recently reemerged from their production studio in the wooded thickets of Hadley, Massachusetts, Wet dropped their debut album Don’t You and will be certainly gaining even more followers after their OSL performance. – Dom P.
Vulfpeck (Panhandle, 2:55-3:35)
It’s unlikely you’ll see any performance quite like Vulfpeck’s this weekend. The funk/soul band take a fully improvisational approach to songwriting resulting in a catalogue of epic, at times comedic, jams that are morphed and built on during live performance. Don’t let their light-hearted approach fool you, though, Vulfpeck are truly gifted musicians who involve the audience in their show at every opportunity. – Ash Continue reading →
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If you’ve been following The Music Ninja over the last few years, you already know that Treasure Island Music Festival reigns atop our list of best music events in the Bay Area. Rounding out peak festival season, TIMF consistently avoids the repetitive lineups that plague competitors while offering an ideal environment for attendees worn out from over-crowded events. 2016 is an important year for the festival marking both its 10th anniversary and final year taking place on Treasure Island itself as a result of upcoming real estate development. Thankfully it will not be the end altogether for the SF staple, which will be relocating to a TBD destination come 2017 (the SF Chronicle even has a poll where you can vote on where it should be).
